Official “UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera” Fight Card Released

The UFC has just released the official roster for their UFC 105 event on November 14th. The fight card only features 10 bouts, however the organization compensated by having five scraps on the main card. That’s sweet for the Spike TV fans watching at home via same-day tape delay, but not too great for those that paid to get into the MAN Arena in Manchester, England.

Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture makes his return to the 205-pound division after suffering consecutive losses at heavyweight. The first of the two L’s was his title unification bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 91, which initially planted the seed in Couture’s mind that it might be time to drop down a weight class if he wanted to extend his illustrious career even further.

He was most recently seen being dominated by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102 just last month, another massive heavyweight.

Vera competed on the same UFC 102 fight card as he easily outpointed an over-matched Krzysztof Soszynski to a unanimous decision victory. The W bumped his professional record to an impressive 11-3, however he has posted a mundane 3-3 mark over his last six scraps.

Although both of their previous contests went the distance, Couture and Vera were able to survive their battles without suffering any significant injuries. That was what enabled the UFC to put them back in action so quickly.

Popular Brit Michael Bisping will be facing a tough challenge in Denis Kang in the evening’s co-main event, and fellow Englishman Dan Hardy will take on Mike Swick in a welterweight top contender matchup.

And as sheer coincidence, U.K. fighters James Wilks and Ross Pearson will make their official Octagon debuts as UFC employees since capturing their respective tournaments on “The Ultimate Fighter 9.”

Peter Sobotta’s bout against DaMarques Johnson was scrapped after it was revealed Sobotta would have to fulfill a military commitment. That’s the reason there are only 10 scraps on this card instead of the standard 11.